How do you think Apple could get rid of the Home "popper" button?

The only 1 tiny let down for me is the physical home button, which just has a metal popper underneath, a bit like an old joystick from the 1980's

And now we have to press the dam thing twice to call up the multitasking bar.

Also due to the fact the iPad could be in any of 4 different orientations, this button could be in one of 4 locations.

Do you think there could be a way to get rid of this one bit of physical moving tech and put in a soft button, or something else to make the whole iPad solid state.

I'd be interested if you had any ideas of how they could get over this design that's too build into the system as a whole to get rid of, but as I say seem a shame it has to be there in the way it currently is.

Soft switches are liable to failing if there's a software problem. Hard switches don't. The iPhone and iPad have been pared down to the minimum of bard switches but I don't see them going away anytime soon.

Soft switches are liable to failing if there's a software problem. Hard switches don't. The iPhone and iPad have been pared down to the minimum of bard switches but I don't see them going away anytime soon.

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On the very rare occasions when my iphone/ipod/ipad has crashed/frozen, the fact the home button is physical hasn't helped at all as the software has stopped responding to it. The power button on the other hand is what has let me force it to turn off.

So it does need one physical button to be able to turn it off in case of a freeze/crash but not two IMO.

I'm not in anyway saying to get rid of switches around the outside for things like volume, power on/off, and the lock/mute switch.

They are not ones you have to use, perhaps 100+ times a day.

I'm only talking about getting rid of the hole in the glass, the physical popper home button, and making the entire thing a solid sheet of glass, with some electronic solid state way of duplicating the home button you have to use to get our of every app and call up the multitasking bar

A button on the side would be good near or even between the volume rocker as then you could trigger it without having to move your thumb all the way off the screen and just kinda squeeze the phone instead?

A button on the side would be good near or even between the volume rocker as then you could trigger it without having to move your thumb all the way off the screen and just kinda squeeze the phone instead?

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Perhaps a side button may work for the iPhone, but not the iPad which is what I'm really asking about.

Any real physical button you press all the time is going to have issues with case design.

I'm sure Apple would love to get rid of the hole in the Glass and the button, but even they have not thought of a way to get around it yet.

On the very rare occasions when my iphone/ipod/ipad has crashed/frozen, the fact the home button is physical hasn't helped at all as the software has stopped responding to it. The power button on the other hand is what has let me force it to turn off.

So it does need one physical button to be able to turn it off in case of a freeze/crash but not two IMO.

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The power switch and home button are the only way to force a full restart. Also, in the case recovery mode is needed, thats what the home button is for. It will never be a soft button.

I actually used my first Windows 7 phone yesterday and the lack of a physical button with a "home screen" functionality actually bothered me. It just felt wrong to just place my finger on a little area (out of random the first time as the capacitive button isn't always lit up) rather than having some feedback.

I like the idea of making the bezel have limited touch, or maybe just a four finger swipe from the bottom bezel to the center of the screen would enable multi-task and from the top to the center will take you home.

I also wish the same finger motions that work on the MBP touchpad and Magic Trackpad applied to the iPad screen.

As has already been said, the home button should never be a software button. For a piece of technology that does regrettably crash occasionally, as well as one where it is impossible (mostly) too pull the battery out to reset it, it is essential we keep a few physical buttons for a hard reset if needed. Plus, I have soft buttons on my current phone - half the time, the damn things don't work. It's really not a perfected technology.

As has already been said, the home button should never be a software button. For a piece of technology that does regrettably crash occasionally, as well as one where it is impossible (mostly) too pull the battery out to reset it, it is essential we keep a few physical buttons for a hard reset if needed. Plus, I have soft buttons on my current phone - half the time, the damn things don't work. It's really not a perfected technology.

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Realize that there are other buttons on the iPad that can be used for a hard reset, like the volume buttons. They are never used in combination with the lock button and could serve as a reset in case of a crash/freeze.

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